Papal envoy unable to reach Ivory Coast

April 07, 2011

A week after Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was sending Cardinal Peter Turkson to Ivory Coast, as his personal representative to aid peacemaking efforts there, the cardinal has been unable to reach his destination.

Cardinal Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, had reached Accra, Ghana, when all flights into Ivory Coast were suspended. The cardinal continues to look for connecting flights, but the challenge is a difficult one: the airport in Abidjan, the country's capital, has been closed because of the fighting.

At his weekly public audience on April 6, when he spoke of his concern about the fighting in Ivory Coast, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned that he hoped Cardinal Turkson would be able to reach his destination and help with efforts to bring the bloodshed to an end.

 

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Further information:

• Cardinal Peter Turkson stuck in Accra as fighting rages in Ivory Coast (Ghana Business News)